COMICS-RELATED NEWS ITEM #1: I decided to do a day of hourly comics on Friday, and I posted the results yesterday.  If you missed that, you should go have a look look.

COMICS-RELATED NEWS ITEM #2:  The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy’s January jam comic is online.  The theme was “Blood, Sweat, and Tacos: The Last Days of Gary Coleman.” Things I got to draw for this one: hookers, Avenue Q puppets, The Pope of Gary Coleman, people in a toxic waste pit, a bulgy-eyed close-up of Gary Coleman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Please do check it out.

COMICS-RELATED NEWS ITEM #3: Last Tuesday I went to my first-ever comics gathering at Modern Myths in Northampton. There were only five of us, but we did a neat five-page jam comic about Nixon! I had a nice time, though I did feel a little like I was cheating on the Minnesota conspiracy.

COMICS-RELATED NEW ITEM #4: Speaking of the Minnesota conspiracy, founder Steve Stwalley recently did some excellent art supply reviews for Wet Paint in St Paul. I lived mere blocks from Wet Paint when I lived with Chris and Ian. It’s a really, really swell place. As someone who has often felt nervous about laying down cash for a pricey pen I’m not even sure I’ll like, I found Steve’s reviews really useful.

AS FOR TODAY’S COMIC: A thousand apologies to Craig Thompson.  His art is absolutely without parallel.  And I greatly enjoyed “Blankets.”  Nevertheless there were bits that annoyed me, and many of those bits had to do with Raina.

Drawing Raina reminded me of a rant my mother once had when I was a little girl and we were in the Barbie aisle.  She was complaining that all the Disney Princess Barbie dolls (I think we were looking in particular at Jasmine) have their heads slightly tilted down, and their eyes looking upward.  “I hate that look on women,” she said.  I remember liking it that she said that, but it took awhile to figure out why.  It’s that stupid damsel-in-distress thing.  An intentional helplessness.  “Ooh, look how big and tall you are, Prince Charming!  I’m so shy and modest, I have to tuck my chin down and look up at you with big doe eyes peeking through my flowing hair.”  Fairy tale princesses (and Raina) are martyrs, stuck in difficult, unfair situations, but accepting it all with a shrug and a smile, and looking lovely the whole time. There are far too many female characters like this. Give me Aline Kominsky-Crumb any day.

PS I feel like the guy in the last panel is inspired by characters my friend Nate draws.